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She used a small piece of doeskin to pat some vermilion on Jessie’s cheeks.
“And now matching flowers in your hair,” Jade said as she placed sprigs of white flowers above Jessie’s ears.
“You smell like jasmine,” Lee-Lee said, sighing.
“I cannot tell you how I feel,” Jessie said, again giggling. “I just feel so . . . so . . . heavenly.”
“And soon you will be married to a powerful, wonderful, and caring Sioux chief,” Jade said, taking a brief peek through the entrance to see if Thunder Horse was on his way toward the tepee.
She gasped when she saw him step from his lodge. She placed her hands to her cheeks, sighing when she saw just how handsome he was, and how radiant his smile as he stepped up to the most beautiful horse Jade had ever seen.
“It is so beautiful,” Jade said, looking over her shoulder at Jessie.
“What is so beautiful?” Jessie asked. She hurried to the entranceway and stepped up beside Jade. She looked outside and gasped. She felt herself melting when she saw Thunder Horse take the reins of a beautiful white-faced bay.
“I wonder if it is to be mine,” she murmured, having heard that he would be presenting her with a special steed today.
“Surely it is,” Lee-Lee said, coming and squeezing between Jade and Jessie. She, too, sighed with pleasure as she saw the horse and the handsome man now mounting it.
“I just know that Lone Wing will be as handsome as his uncle when he becomes a man,” Lee-Lee said, blushing as she gazed over to where Lone Wing stood with others around the huge outdoor fire, awaiting the marriage ceremony.
Much food had been cooked this day, and now stood in large pots around the edge of the fire, staying warm until it was to be eaten.
The drums and other musical instruments of the Sioux awaited the moment when Thunder Horse would give the sign to begin the music. Dancers were clustered together in bright clothes, ready to dance and celebrate their chief’s wedding.
It was all magical, and Lee-Lee wanted the same one day when she could marry Lone Wing.
Jessie continued watching Thunder Horse as he mounted the horse, holding the end of a lariat tied about the animal’s neck. He guided the lovely horse altogether by the motions of his body.
“Why, the horse seems to be entering into the spirit of the occasion,” Jessie said, admiring its graceful movements in perfect obedience to his master.
Thunder Horse had told her in advance that when he got close to where she was waiting, it was the custom to pull his robe over his head, leaving only a slit to look through.
That was what he was doing at this very moment. Then he stopped just outside Sweet Willow’s lodge, directly in front of the entrance.
Jessie knew what she was supposed to do next. She had been taught about the ritual between a man and a woman just prior to speaking their vows.
If she wanted to hear what the man had to say, she would step outside and listen. If she didn’t want to hear him, or marry him, she would stay inside the lodge until he turned and left.
Wanting him more than anything, she hurried outside.
Although she could only see a portion of his eyes, she saw how they widened when he saw her. She knew then that he approved of what she wore, even the flowers thrust between her breasts.
“I am so glad that you came to me,” she said, knowing those were the words she was supposed to speak if she wanted him as her husband.
“I bring you the gift of a horse,” Thunder Horse said, not dismounting until she said she accepted it as her own.
“I love it, and, yes, I want it,” Jessie said. “I also love you and want you.”
He flung aside the robe and dismounted.
Jessie sighed with appreciation when she saw his handsomely beaded outfit. She trembled as he approached her now, like one would approach any shy creature of the earth, gently, slowly, one step at a time. Indeed, her heart felt as shy as that of a young antelope trembling behind a cactus plant.
Then he took Jessie’s hands and led her out of the lodge. Lone Wing came and took the lovely steed away and placed him among his uncle’s other prized horses.
The drums began softly beating, and someone played a flute in the distance. Several women started to sing softly as the shaman came and stood before Thunder Horse and Jessie. All the people of the Fox band stood around them, smiling and watching.
The drums and flute continued playing as the shaman, Hawk Dreamer, ministered to the two who were seeking his blessing today, as well as the blessing of the Great Spirit.
